The Institute of Food Technology and Analysis at the Technical University of Łódź (PŁ) is working on an innovative project to develop and implement a technology to produce black garlic from Polish varieties.

“In order to help Polish garlic producers develop their crops and increase sales, an innovative production technology for ‘black gold’ will be developed in a pilot plant for the fermentation of this raw material. The installation will be adaptable for wider use on other production farms”, says Professor Grażyna Budryn, director of the Institute of Food Technology and Analysis.

The work will be carried out as part of a consortium between PŁ and the Medical University of Łódź, a farm, an entrepreneur and an agricultural consultancy. The garlic pickling installation will be designed using advanced energy-saving technology.

“The implementation of the project, which will result in the creation of a processing plant for the production of black garlic, is intended to support the agricultural sector. The assumed solutions will translate into several environmentally beneficial effects”, claims Professor Grażyna Budryn.

She stresses that the garlic will be produced in an optimised and shortened process, thanks to the pre-processing used before the main fermentation process. “The fermentation itself aims to enhance the organoleptic and, very importantly, health-promoting qualities of the garlic. Fermentation results in the production of S-allilocysteine, which can inhibit inflammatory processes that contribute to many chronic conditions”, adds Prof Grażyna Budryn.

According to PŁ, the advantage of the developed solution will be the possibility of its application in smaller and larger farms and processing plants, thanks to the possibility of juxtaposing several unit devices into larger installations.

Adrian Andrzejewski